Any close resemblance to reality is not just a coincidence. In the novel of the newly appearing Sofronis Sofroniou, historical and imaginary personalities are crossing paths as the plot keeps traveling through space (Cyprus, Amsterdam, New York) and time (21st, 20th, 19th, 16th century). The story is tight and keeps speeding as sensuality is battling ascetism and literary fiction digs deeply into the historical underground. The central figure of the novel, Antonios Leontiou (1896-1947), the man who would afterwards become the bishop of Cyprus, is a symbol of the author’s concern regarding his country. The flow of his tormented life gets interrupted by Arthur Rimbaud, Paul the Apostle, Francois Villon, Jeronimo Bosch, Marika Papagkika, the ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, the folk musician Ali Peske, several sects, the anonymous mob and his very own killer. On the threshold of history and fantasy, people get taught life lessons through violent means, trying to find out if their actions are self-inflicted or effectuated by external forces. Poetry, music and Painting are omnipresent throughout the novel.

Cyprus national book award, 2015

Rodakio 2015, 368 p.